Father of the Year?
by Bichonmom
Summary: A simple case of reckless driving becomes much more. (Harm/Mac)


Father of the Year?  
  
Author: Alicia  
  
Rating: R WARNING THIS STORY DEALS WITH THE MURDER OF A CHILD AT THE HANDS OF THEIR PARENT!!! CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.  
  
Classification: Story  
  
Spoilers: Not a one! (Unless you want to count my local news.)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own JAG or the JAG characters. They belong to CBS, DPB, and Paramount.  
  
Summary: Mac has a case and client that are more than she or anyone else expected. Mac ends up seeing her father in a slightly different light because of her client.  
  
A/N: This story is based on a case that has been occuring in my town for the past six months. In January a young man was arrested after leading police on a high speed chase for a minor traffic violation. Shortly after the arrest, the man's 4-year-old son was reported missing by his mother who said she'd last seen him with the father. The father refused to say anything and massive searches were launched. After about two weeks the searches were called off due to lack of evidence. The father remained in jail on charges stemming from the high speed chase. He was in court last April for sentencing on those charges when he announced to the entire court that he'd killed the child because the boy was the antichrist and had 666 on his forehead. The father was rushed out of court and back to jail where he refused to talk about what he said or tell where the body was. It's now June and he's finally given the police somewhere to look. Local authorities and volunteers have spent the past four days searching a local dump. The father reportedly told the police that he put the body in an apartment dumpster in a neighboring town. To get an idea of the difficulty of this search remember, the body would have gone to the dump in January and it's now June. I know this story has changed how my daughter looks at her father in that while he's immature and irresponsible at least she knows what she's dealing with and what she can and can't expect from him. (That's her description of her Dad, not mine.) I began thinking that a case like this might change how Mac viewed her father. I'm in no way trying to make light of child abusers. I am trying to explore how your perspective can change with the passage of time and the gaining of experience.  
  
January 2004 Mac's Office  
  
I wonder what I did to tick the admiral off. I had to have done something to get stuck with the turkey of a case. An idiot of a squid was arrested by local police in Norfolk. I know it's not correct to call your client an idiot but I really think this guy is. He has been charged with reckless driving, speeding, resisting arrest, evading police, and assault with a deadly weapon. He led police on a high speed chase after they tried to pull him over for speeding. He was finally captured after he rolled the car when he tried to take a turn at 120m.p.h. The petty officer in question has no prior record and a spotless military record. Not to mention more luck then one man deserves. He rolled his car at that speed and walked away with minor injuries. The admiral has ordered me to go down to Norfolk to represent the petty officer. Hopefully I can get this over with quickly and make it back to D.C. tonight.  
  
0900 Two days later Mac's Office.  
  
I hang up the phone and lean back in my chair and close my eyes. Is it 1700 yet? Better yet is it Friday yet? What I thought was going to be an easy case that could be handled by any junior attorney is turning out to be more difficult than anyone expected.  
  
"You okay Mac?"  
  
I open my eyes and see Harm standing at my open office door holding a cup of cappuccino.  
  
"Is that for me?"  
  
"Yeah, you looked like you could use it. Things not going to well this week?"  
  
"That's the understatement of the year! Remember that case the admiral gave me Tuesday?"  
  
"The one at Norfolk that should have been a cakewalk? Petty Officer Jones right?"  
  
"I wish! Jones was living off base with his girlfriend, Lisa, and their 7- year-old daughter, Annie. About an hour after his arrest, Annie was reported missing. Lisa reports last seeing the child with Jones one hour and fifteen minutes prior to the beginning of the chase. Lisa claims that Jones told her that he and Annie were going to the grocery store."  
  
"And Jones says?"  
  
"Nothing, Not a damn thing. He's not even talking to me."  
  
"He's not talking at all?"  
  
"He's not saying a word. This man could teach the mafia guys a thing or two about omerta. He's not talking to me, the cops, his CO. Hell, I doubt the guy's talking in his sleep!" Harm chuckles at little at that statement.  
  
"So, what's really bothering you Mac?"  
  
"The fact the guy's hiding something!"  
  
"Not necessarily. Maybe the mom's lying."  
  
"I might have agreed with that before I got a phone call from the detective in charge of the case."  
  
"Okay, I'll bite. What'd he say?"  
  
"She and plenty. Lisa passed a polygraph with flying colors. A neighbor of one of Jones' friends reported seeing Jones' car at the friends house 45 minutes before the start of the chase. Crime scene techs found blood in the garage they are now trying to determine if it could be Annie's. Jones still has nothing to say."  
  
"What's your part in all this?"  
  
"Well, I have to represent the man. The Norfolk authorities are holding him on the original charges and are gathering evidence in the disappearance of his daughter. The judge has denied bail and the Navy has no interest in having the case transferred to their jurisdiction."  
  
"At least until they know for sure what they're dealing with right?"  
  
"Bingo."  
  
"Sounds like a nightmare. Can I say I'm glad it's you and not me? You're better at maintaining control of your emotions."  
  
"True but I wish I didn't have to."  
  
"I hear you, Ninja girl. Tell you what, I'll buy you lunch and no talking about work. You need the break."  
  
"Deal, 1230 okay?"  
  
"Stop by my office and get me when you're ready." With that said Harm leaves my office closing the door as a wave to him. I shake my head to clear it and get back to work. The Jones case is by no means the only thing I have on my plate.  
  
March 2004 JAG conference room. 1100  
  
That son of a bitch! I don't freaking believe it! He's being sentenced on misdemeanor charges. The assault with a deadly weapon had been dropped to assault. This jerk of a petty officer hasn't said word one about his daughter in almost four months. The case was transferred to a military court and he was being sentenced on the charges and what does the moron decide to do? He decides to torment Annie's mother. It was completely quiet in the courtroom. There's TV cameras from the stations in Norfolk. The man's just been sentenced to 18 months in the brig with credit for time already served. The judge is ready to dismiss court and Jones says he has an announcement. He then turns and looks at Lisa and says that he killed Annie. He claims he had to because Annie was sent by the devil to destroy him!  
  
Everyone in the courtroom froze. Then the guards sprung forward and grabbed Jones and ushered him out at the same moment Lisa started screaming asking if anybody heard what he'd said. Manetti was prosecuting, she grabbed the mom and ushered her out of the courtroom before the reporters could swoop down like the vultures they can be.  
  
This is going to be all over the news. I've got to go meet with the admiral and Manetti and probably someone from Norfolk PD. None of us have ever experienced anything like this before and we've got to figure out how the hell to go from here. We need to find Annie while avoiding doing anything that would jeopardize convicting this guy if Annie is dead.  
  
I also need to get some ice for my foot. That wall I kicked hurt like hell!  
  
Memorial Day 2004 1300 Mac's Corvette on the road from Norfolk.  
  
Well maybe we're finally starting to make some progress here. After the incident in court Jones again did his impersonation of a clam. He would say nothing to anyone. The admiral even tried talking to him. Nothing. Like I told Harm, this guy could give the mafia lessons on omerta.  
  
Then all of a sudden Saturday morning the guy decides he's ready to talk. Actually, that's not entirely the case. On Thursday Harm was put in charge of the prosecution for the case after Manetti was assigned sea duty. On Friday Harm met with Jones and myself. He then proceeds to convince Jones that he would try him for Annie's murder with or without a body, but that Jones helped him find Annie's body so Lisa could bury her the Navy would not seek the death penalty. What shocked me the most was that Jones agreed to help. He tells me, Harm, and Detective Harris that he put Annie's body in a dumpster in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Norfolk. Of course that dumpster is emptied twice a week. It's been emptied about forty times since Annie disappeared.  
  
I've been in Norfolk finding out how the search is going to go. Luckily, when the original search was conducted the dump was included. They didn't find anything but they did mark of several areas. This means that they can scrape off garbage until the reach those markers rather than having to search through trash that's accumulated since Annie vanished. I really hope they find her. Lisa needs to be able to bury her daughter and we'd all like to be done with this case.  
  
August 2004 Mac's Office 1600 hours  
  
It's over. It's done with. Petty Officer Jones was just sentenced to life in Leavenworth with no possibility of parole. Annie's body was found on the 21st of June. Likely we still wouldn't have found the body without Jones having told us what he'd done with it. As it was it still took almost a month of searching the dump to find her. The body was amazingly well preserved. The medical examiner was able to determine that Annie was strangled from the front. Her father looked her in the eyes and watched the life drain out of them.  
  
This case has really taken a lot out of me and I'm so glad it's over. I am actually relieved to have this one go in my loss column. This guy deserved everything he got and more. He probably deserved the death penalty but I understand why Harm made the deal he did. I hear a noise and look up to see Harm standing in my doorway.  
  
"Hey Mac how about dinner tonight?"  
  
"I don't know Harm. I wouldn't be really good company."  
  
"You got to eat Mac. Well get some takeout and go back to my place."  
  
"What's wrong with my place?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing but I keep my a/c lower and it's hotter than you know what out there!" I have to chuckle at this. Harm does have a valid point.  
  
"Okay you're on."  
  
"Well then let's go. The admiral gave both of us permission to leave early." Oh, Thank you Admiral! I gather my things and head for the door with Harm. Harm heads for Chinese while I head to the grocery store for Ben and Jerry's. We're going to meet at Harm's in an hour. Of course traffic probably won't cooperate but we both have keys so it doesn't matter if we get there at different times.  
  
Harm's Apartment 2032  
  
Dinner's finished and the dishes are done. Harm and I are sitting on the couch listening to jazz and eating ice cream.  
  
"What's up Mac?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"You want to try that once more with feeling?" Okay the man knows me well, maybe too well.  
  
"Just this case has gotten me thinking about my childhood. My father was an abusive drunk who hit both me and my mother, yet he was a better father than Annie's."  
  
"How do you figure that?"  
  
"Well at least I knew what to expect from my father. By all accounts Jones was a caring and involved father. I doubt Annie had any clue what was coming and probably died wondering why her daddy had suddenly decided to hate her." I'm trying really hard not to cry. Harm reaches out to pull me into his embrace but I shrug him off.  
  
"Don't Harm. I need to get this out." He nods his understanding.  
  
"I've been so mad at my dad for so long. Yes he was a drunk and yes he used to hit me. The thing is I knew what I could and couldn't expect from him. I'm beginning to understand that while my childhood was bad, I'm not the only person to ever have a lousy childhood. I'm also beginning to realize that my father's not the only one responsible for my childhood sucking. My mother, Uncle Matt and grandparents all played a role. Uncle Matt knew what was going on. So did my grandparents and noneof them did anything to get me out of there. They didn't want to take me away from my parents. Well maybe they should have. "  
  
"The thing is even when things were at their worst I always knew what to expect. I knew what days of the month he'd be the drunkest. I knew when to disappear to avoid a beating and what to do to lessen a beating. Annie had no clue what was coming. My dad was a drunk and an ass but he never wrapped his hands around my neck and watched the life leave my eyes." I can't hold back the tears any longer and this time when Harm tries to pull me into a hug, I let him. I cry until I can't cry anymore.  
  
"Mac?"  
  
"I'm okay Harm. It's just I 've held on to this idea that my father was the worst one on the planet and this case has made me realize he wasn't even close. It's quite a shocking realization but I think it's a necessary one. While I'd forgiven my father, I hadn't humanized him. I think this case helped me to realize he was human. I think I've finally started to accept my childhood and let the bitterness go. That's something that needed to be done, if I'm ever going to be a mother."  
  
"You will be. I'm trying to fulfill that promise."  
  
"Actually I meant to tell you. I found out this morning, promise kept."  
  
The End  
  
I may continue this with Mac confronting her demons, or what I see as her demons, a little more as she becomes a mother. I haven't decided yet. 


End file.
